RECORDED BOOKS ™ PRESENTS
PIMSLEUR
L A N G U A G E
®
P R O G R A M S
J A PA N E S E I
3 RD EDITION
SUPPLEMENTAL
READING BOOKLET
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Notes on Japanese Culture and Communication . . .3
Unit 1: sumimasen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Word Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Unit 2: Expressions of Modesty and Deference
in Japanese Communication . . . . . . . 6
~ ne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Unit 3: Omission of Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
domo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Unit 4: Questions Phrased with a Negative . . 10
Public Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Unit 5: Language of Social Levels, Age,
Position and Deference . . . . . . . . . . . 12
nanika . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Unit 6: Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Unit 7: Cognates and “Borrowed English
Loan Words” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Unit 8: Addressing People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Counting Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Unit 9: Meals of a Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Circumlocution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Unit 10: Levels of Politeness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Unit 11: chotto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
~ masen ka? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Unit 12: Yen: Japanese Currency . . . . . . . . . . 23
Using a Telephone in Japan . . . . . . . . 24
Unit 13: Counting in Japanese . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Good-bye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Unit 14: takusan, sukoshi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Drinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Unit 15: itte kimasu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
16: ~ desu ga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
17: kyo wo nani o shimasu ka? . . . . . . . . 31
18: shujin, goshujin / kanai, okusan . . . . . 32
19: hajimemashite / dozo yoroshiku . . . . . 34
20: hitori, futari, san nin . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
otoko no ko, onna no ko . . . . . . . . . . . 35
21: otearai, toire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
a, so desu ka? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
22: kodomo, kodomo san . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
23: Weights and Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
24: Getting Around in Japan . . . . . . . . . . 42
25: oo kei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Store Hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
26: ni, san . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Taxis in Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
27: hyaku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
28: jaa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
29: masu, mashita, masen . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
30: Continuing Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Introduction to Reading Japanese . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Kanji, the Chinese Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Katakana and Hiragana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Books and Signs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Notes on Japanese Culture and Communication
The objective of Pimsleur’s Japanese I, Third
Edition is to introduce you to the language and
culture of Japan primarily through your ears, and
only secondarily through your eyes.
This approach is based upon the fact that more
than 95 percent of our lives is spent in listening and
talking, and less than 5 percent in reading and
writing. The most effective and productive way to
begin acquiring these necessary communication
skills is by actually working with the “language in
use,” as demonstrated by native speakers of the
language being learned.
Efficiency is greatly increased when what you
learn first are the most-frequently-used structures
and daily life vocabulary, so that you practice with
the practical tools you require every day. This
carefully selected “core-language” allows the tutor
to keep you focused entirely on essential language.
This is self-motivating because you will begin to
use it immediately and successfully.
Language and culture are so closely intertwined
that learning them separately can make you literally
“culturally-deprived,” that is, unable to produce
appropriate and meaningful language. For this reason you must carefully notice the different ways the
Japanese “act” in the various situations you will
experience as you proceed through the units of this
4
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Notes (continued)
course. Being sensitive to “who is doing what to
whom, and why,” is what you have learned to do
almost unconsciously in your native tongue — you
will attain this same sense of “awareness” as you
gain proficiency in your new language. This
implicit instruction will come from the lessons, as
you learn to identify the intonation and melody of
the speakers. This Booklet will provide additional
explicit instruction to further confirm what you
have learned. The Notes have also been recorded on
the last CD/cassette.
Acquiring the culture, “the map of the territory,”
is like acquiring the terminology of a subject: it
enables you to operate as a fellow member in that
society. Your success in working with native
speakers of Japanese will depend to some extent
upon how sensitive you become to the accumulated
heritage that is Japanese.
5
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 1
sumimasen
In this unit, you have learned sumimasen for
“Excuse me.” You will find yourself using and
hearing this expression quite often in your interactions with the Japanese. sumimasen is used for
several purposes. It is often used to express the
speaker’s sincere and polite attitude toward others.
However, Japanese people use this expression to
convey not only “Excuse me,” but also “I’m sorry,”
and even “Thank you.” You will hear them say
sumimasen to attract someone’s attention when
initiating a conversation, as was demonstrated in the
Unit. You might also hear this expression from
someone who mistakenly steps on your foot in a
crowded train and wishes to apologize. It is a very
useful expression in a wide range of social contexts.
Word Order
You noticed in this unit that the Japanese word
order is very different from what you are accustomed to in English. Such words as masu, masen,
and masu ka — which determine whether the
speaker is making a statement, negating or asking
something — come at the end of a sentence. You
need to, therefore, listen to the speaker all the way
through to the end of the sentence to find out the
speaker’s intention. This may be confusing to you
6
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 1 (continued) / Unit2
at first, but as you become skillful, you will be able
to use this sentence structure to your advantage, as
you can carefully sense the listener’s feeling while
you speak. You can then decide on the overall tone
of your message by modifying the ending accordingly.
Unit 2
Expressions of Modesty and Deference in
Japanese Communication
In this unit you heard a person expressing
modesty when receiving a compliment from
another person on his ability to speak Japanese.
When someone compliments the Japanese on good
work, nice clothes, a beautiful house, a wonderful
dinner, etc., it is customary for them to downplay
their abilities, possessions, etc. While negating a
compliment may be considered a sign of lack of
confidence or even insincerity in some cultures, the
Japanese frequently use it as an expression of
modesty and deference in daily communication. As
a case in point, consider this conversation:
7
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 2 (continued)
“That was a wonderful meal! You are a great
cook, suzuki san.”
“Oh, no. I only followed a recipe. Anybody
can cook.”
“I certainly can’t. Could you teach me?”
“Can I teach? Oh, no. You cook far better
than I can. I’m the one who needs to take
lessons from you.
Suzuki may be seen as too modest by American
standards, but this is socially acceptable behavior in
Japan. This humility is only seen as avoiding
appearing to be arrogant or conceited.
~ ne
In this unit you also heard ne at the end of
sentences, as in nihongo ga wakarimasu ne. It is
roughly equivalent to the English “isn’t it?” “aren’t
you?” “don’t you?” etc. The use of ne shows that
the speaker expects the listener to agree with him or
her. You will hear this used frequently in Japanese;
in fact, some people may end virtually every
sentence with ne. Living in a more collectivistic
society than the U.S., the Japanese value being
aligned with and maintaining harmonious relationships with others. The frequent use of ne illustrates
their desire to avoid creating any potential for
conflict or disagreement with one another.
8
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 3
Omission of Subjects
Japanese speakers often rely on the listener’s
ability to understand their real intention from what
appears to be subtle and evasive verbal and
nonverbal signals. Being able to leave some things
unsaid so that the other can read between the lines is
an important skill in Japanese communication. A
person who explains things in great detail is
considered legalistic and is often frowned upon.
The frequent omission of subjects is one example of
this ambiguous and seemingly incomplete form of
Japanese communication. This style of speech may
frustrate foreign learners of Japanese at first, but
after a while it will become natural.
The Japanese language has several words for
“you.” The one to use depends upon the speaker’s
relationship with the person being spoken to.
Among these are the common anata, which was
introduced in this unit, the informal anta, the formal
kimi (often used by a superior to address his or her
junior), and omae, used only by male speakers.
However, you will often hear people address one
another without using any of these, simply leaving
“you” to be understood.
9
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 3 (continued)
domo
domo is used to emphasize your politeness, as in
domo arigato gozaimasu. It is used for a variety of
purposes: to indicate “indeed” and “very much” as
in this unit, to show the speaker’s suspicious feeling
as in domo okashii, “I have a doubt about it,” or to
mean “by any means.” Japanese speakers are very
fond of using domo in many contexts. Although in
formal, “correct” speech, domo should be followed
by a word that it modifies, Japanese speakers often
use it alone. You will often hear them say domo,
domo when they greet each other.
10
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 4
Questions Phrased with a Negative
When speaking to Japanese speakers and
phrasing a question with a negative such as “Aren’t
you tired?” or “Isn’t it hot today?” you will find that
they will sometimes reverse “yes” and “no.” For
example, when asked “Aren’t you Japanese?” they
will answer “No,” meaning “I am Japanese.” Since
being able to read another person’s implications and
behaving accordingly is an important social skill in
Japan, when asked “Aren’t you Japanese?” many
Japanese people will assume that you must be
thinking he or she is not Japanese. In response to
this assumption, they will deny, by saying “No,”
meaning, “No, you are wrong, I am indeed
Japanese.” That is why, in the conversation the
person said iie, yoku hanasemasu (“No, you can
speak well”) in response to demo, mada jozu ja
arimasen (“But I can’t speak well yet”).
11
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 4 (continued)
Public Transportation
In this unit, you heard the names of two places in
Tokyo: Ueno and Shinjuku. These are both very
busy districts, since they are the hubs of major
railroad and subway lines, serving millions of
people every day who travel to, from, and around
the Tokyo metropolitan area. There are numerous
national and private railroad companies and some
fifteen subway lines in Tokyo, and they are still
being further developed.
The complex subway lines make it quite
challenging for international travelers, and sometimes the local residents as well, to figure out the
best way to travel to their destinations. You may
sometimes get an uncertain response or no response
at all when you ask passers-by in downtown Tokyo
for directions. The public transportation system in
Japan is generally well developed, but in order to
take full advantage of it, you need to first memorize
the names of major cities and towns that will help
orient you to the right directions and the best
method of transportation.
12
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 5
Language of Social Levels, Age, Position, and
Deference
The complex rules governing status in Japan
play an important role in the expressions used in
various social situations. In this unit, you have
learned how to ask a person whether he or she wants
to eat or drink: tabemasu ka? and nomimasu ka?
These expressions are used when there is no need
for the speaker to show deference, that is, between
friends, family members, and colleagues. If,
however, a native Japanese speaker is in a lower
position than the hearer, he or she must carefully
choose the most appropriate level of politeness. O
tabe ni nari masu ka? is more polite than tabemasu
ka? and o meshiagari ni nari masu ka? is far more
polite. A great variety of expressions are available,
depending on the degree of courtesy needed. As a
non-native speaker of Japanese, however, you are
seldom, if ever, expected to be able to use these
expressions, but you will hear them used, so it is
good to be aware of them.
13
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 5 (continued)
nanika
In this unit you heard nanika, a very commonly
used word and a convenient expression. It is equivalent to “something” in English. You can use it for
a variety of purposes: seeking a person’s opinion,
stating yours, and making your statement evasive.
It can be followed by an adjective and an infinitive:
for example, nanika tsumetai nomimono
(something cold to drink). Or it can be used alone
as in the expression you heard in this unit; hai
nanika? (Yes, something you wish to ask?) You will
hear many native Japanese speakers pronounce it
nanka which is informal and casual, often used
between friends and people of an equal status.
14
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 6
Particles
When speaking English with non-native
speakers, you can usually guess their fluency by
their familiarity with idiomatic expressions. For
example, when someone says, “John is engaged
with Beth” instead of “engaged to” you can guess
that the person is not a native speaker of English.
The same is true of the Japanese language. There
are many one-syllable words or particles that you
need to be able to use properly in order to convey
your ideas accurately to the listener. wa, ga, de, ni,
mo, ka, no, and to are some examples of these
particles. wa is often used to indicate that the
preceding words are the main topic of a sentence:
for example, watashi wa nihonjin desu. ga is often
used the same way, as in, nihongo ga jozu desu. de
indicates a place, as in anata no tokoro de. ni is
equivalent to the English “at” when accompanied
by a word indicating time, as in ni ji ni, “at two
o’clock.” mo is “also,” as in anata mo - “you too.”
ka is put at the end of a sentence to make it a
question. no is possessive, as in anata no nihongo
(your Japanese). to is approximately equivalent to
“with” in English, as in anato to tabetai desu — “(I)
want to eat with you.” Though they may be
confusing at times, learning to use these particles
properly will greatly contribute to your fluency in
Japanese.
15
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 7
Cognates and “Borrowed English Loan Words”
No language is free from words borrowed from
other languages, and Japanese is no exception.
Many English words have been adopted in
Japanese, although the Japanese often pronounce
them so differently that English speakers can hardly
recognize that they were originally English.
resutoran and biiru illustrate this point. You need to
pronounce these and other words with English
origins as the Japanese do, so that you can make
yourself understood.
Often, the Japanese have changed not only the
pronunciation, but also the form and meanings of
these originally English words. Japanese speakers
often prefer to shorten or abbreviate loan words: for
example, waapuro for “word processor,” pasokon
for “personal computer,” and terebi for “television.”
There are as well some English words used in
Japanese whose meanings have changed to a greater
or lesser extent. For example, there are many
apartment complexes that are called “mansions” in
Japan, usually referring to condominiums. You may
find a pair of socks marked “free size,” which really
means “one size fits all.” In a restaurant, you may
be served mikkusu sando, or “mixed sandwiches.”
“Mixed” in this context means “assorted,” and you
will find various kinds of sandwiches on one plate.
16
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 8
Addressing People
You may have noticed in the units that the
Japanese people use family names to address each
other. The use of first names is usually limited to
family members and close friends. The polite san is
added to a family name and this can be used to
address virtually anyone: male and female, young
and old, strangers and acquaintances alike.
Occasionally it may be attached to one’s first name.
Japanese rarely address one another without
attaching some kind of title to the end of the
person’s name, and san is by far the most common.
If they feel close to you, they may call you, for
instance, “Mary san,” or “Dave san,” equivalent to
“Miss Mary” or “Mr. Dave,” as a sign of friendly
courtesy. When referring to yourself, however, you
would never use san. This is a polite title, used only
when referring to others.
Counting Things
You have learned ni for the number “two” in this
unit. By the time you complete the course, you will
have learned many more numbers. You will find
counting in Japanese is easy, no matter how large
the number may be. You will need to know large
numbers, as 1,000, 20,000, 100,000 and maybe
more. The value of one American dollar has
17
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 8 (continued)
fluctuated between 80 and 140 yen in the last ten
years, and thus prices will usually appear as large
numbers. For example, it costs 700 to 1,000 yen to
buy lunch, 330 yen to buy a bottle of beer, 600 yen
to take a cab for the first mile, and 2,000 to 3,000
yen to take a bus from the New Tokyo International
Airport to downtown Tokyo.
Another important thing to remember when
counting things in Japanese is that there are a wide
variety of words used as “counters” that must
accompany the numbers. The “counter” you use will
vary, depending largely on the shape of the material
you are counting. In this unit, for example, you have
learned ni hon for “two bottles.” hon is the “counter”
for long things, such as bottles, trees, poles, pencils,
hair, etc. “One bottle,” however, is not ichi hon, but
ippon. “Three bottles” is san bon, and “six bottles”
is roppon. Although the pronunciation of hon may
appear to change without any logical consistency, it
has simply been adjusted for easier pronunciation.
Several other “counters” you may find useful are
mai, used for flat material such as paper, cloth, and
plates, and dai, used for many kinds of machinery
including computers, cars, and heavy industrial
equipment. ken is used to count houses and shops.
People are counted as nin, though one person and
two persons are exceptions and counted as hitori and
futari, respectively. Starting with three people you
can say san nin, yo nin, go nin, etc.
18
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 9
Meals of a Day
Japanese does not have unique names for each
meal such as “breakfast,” “lunch,” and “dinner.”
The word gohan is used for every meal preceded by
asa or “morning” for breakfast, hiru or “day” for
lunch, and yoru / yuu or “evening” for dinner.
Gohan alone means rice, so it is used to refer to a
meal or rice, depending upon the context.
You will find that many Japanese people these
days do not eat rice with every meal. They often
have coffee and toast with butter, margarine, and
various kinds of jelly for breakfast, while the traditional Japanese style breakfast consists of a bowl of
rice, fish, eggs, sea weed, and miso (soy bean paste)
soup. For lunch noodles made from buckwheat
(soba), and flour (udon) or spaghetti are popular.
Many American fast food chains are also popular,
especially among young people. The Japanese
dinner consists of rice, fish, meat, and vegetables.
As is commonly known, the Japanese consume
more fish than average Americans.
19
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 9 (continued)
Circumlocution
In this unit, you heard a man and a woman trying
to agree on the time to meet for a drink, and making
alternative suggestions. This provides useful
practice. In reality, however, you will find the
Japanese people to be much more subtle when they
must express a negative response. Concerned with
saving face, the Japanese resort to a variety of
verbal and nonverbal communication strategies,
and avoid directly saying “no” whenever they can.
One common way to turn down a proposal is to
remain silent. When you do not receive an
immediate response to an offer, then the chances are
that the person does not want to accept it, but at the
same time does not want to offend you or make you
feel bad. A long delay in responding may be
another form of refusal. In Japan, unless you are
speaking with someone you know very well and a
mutual trust exists, you will rarely hear a straight
answer given to a difficult question, especially
when that answer involves some kind of refusal.
How do you reach that level? It will take some time,
but if you are sensitive to another culture quite
different from yours, and have a positive attitude
toward adapting to it, you will be able to acquire the
communication skills necessary to establish,
maintain, and develop trusting relationships with
the local people.
20
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 10
Levels of Politeness
The Japanese language has complex rules
concerning the levels of politeness and deference
necessary in different social situations. Throughout
the course, you have learned how to speak on the
“polite” level appropriate in virtually any situation
you are likely to encounter in Japan. As you listen
to conversations between Japanese friends, you
may hear more informal expressions. For example,
instead of asking nan ji desu ka? for “What time is
it?” they might simply ask, nan ji? “What time?”
Another example is wakatta for “understood”
rather than wakarimashita. The Japanese language
has many ways for the speakers to differentiate
between formal and informal expressions in daily
conversations.
When you visit Japan and listen to a conversation
between two friends, you may be discouraged at first
as you find many unfamiliar expressions exchanged,
but this happens when you learn any foreign
language. The expressions that you have learned in
this course will serve as a strong basis for understanding the Japanese people, and given that basis,
you will be able to develop your listening comprehension as well as the ability to select the
appropriate words for each different situation. The
level of politeness used throughout the course is
suitable in conversation with any Japanese speaker.
21
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 11
chotto …
In this unit you heard Ms. Tanaka say ichi ji wa
chotto ... and konban wa chotto ... in response to
suggestions to have lunch at one o’clock and to have
dinner tonight. chotto means “a little” and therefore
these responses can only be translated as “One
o’clock is a little,” and “Tonight is a little,” respectively. Even though the expressions may be
regarded as unfinished in English, Japanese
speakers often use chotto when they wish to indicate their hesitation, refusal, and confusion.
Japanese in general are tentative and indirect in
their communication, and the word chotto is very
convenient in helping them express their modesty.
Even when a proposal submitted by a subordinate
needs substantial improvement, for example, the
superior may say “mo chotto” (a little more),
indicating that the subordinate needs to work on it
before the proposal can be accepted. When you
hear this word, be aware that it can cover various
degrees, and it may not literally mean just “a little.”
22
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 11 (continued)
~ masen ka?
When inviting a person to do something, you
have a range of forms in English to express various
degrees of politeness. The Japanese show their
deference toward the listener by changing how they
end a sentence. In this unit you learned how you
can invite a person to have lunch and dinner with
you. You could directly ask the person whether he
or she will have lunch with you by saying, watashi
to hirugohan o tabemasu ka? For native Japanese
speakers, however, this expression, literally translated as “Do you have lunch with me?” is far too
direct and even offensive and would not be used in
actual conversations. The “request” is more than
likely to be turned down. Asking the same question
in a negative form, watashi to hirugohan o
tabemasen ka? considerably softens the tone, and it
will probably make the listener feel more
comfortable either accepting or declining the offer.
This is equivalent to “Why don’t you ...?” and
“Won’t you ...?” in English.
23
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 12
Yen: Japanese Currency
The yen is the unit of Japanese currency, and its
value against the U.S. dollar has appreciated in the
last few decades. Until the early 1970’s the
exchange rate was fixed at one US dollar to 360 yen,
but it has been fluctuating and one US dollar is now
worth about 120 to 140 yen. Although in writing it
is symbolized as “yen,” its pronunciation is more
like en. There are four notes: 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen,
2,000 yen, and 1,000 yen that are of different sizes
and colors. The 2,000 yen notes were issued in
commemoration of the year 2000 but they have not
been circulated very widely. Also there are six
kinds of coins: 500 yen, 100 yen, 50 yen, 10 yen, 5
yen, and 1 yen.
While Americans in general carry little cash and
use credit cards and checks instead, the Japanese
tend to pay cash when they go shopping. You will
find many kinds of vending machines that sell a
wide range of things, from soft drinks to train
tickets. Some of the machines accept 10,000 yen
notes and give change in both paper money and
coins.
24
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 12 (continued)
Using a Telephone in Japan
Communicating on the phone in a foreign country
is always a challenge. You now know that “hello” is
moshi moshi in Japanese, literally meaning “I speak,
I speak.” You can say moshi moshi both when you
answer the phone and make a call to someone. It has
been used ever since the telephone was introduced in
Japan. It costs 10 yen to make a local call.
You will seldom see people in Japan using coins
when they use public telephones. Instead they use
pre-paid telephone cards that can be purchased from
vending machines. The pre-paid cards cost either
500 yen or 1,000 yen, worth 50 and 100 local calls,
respectively, and they can be used for any local, as
well as long distance and overseas calls.
A great majority of the Japanese people own
cellular phones today, which has largely replaced the
need for public phones altogether. Many Japanese
use their mobile phones as a primary means of
communication to send and receive e-mails, check
the weather, make plane reservations, purchase
tickets, etc., since a great amount of information is
made available through mobile phone network
systems. You will notice many Japanese busy talking
on their individual phones, checking e-mail on small
display screens, and punching in information on
hand-held Palm Pilots®.
25
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 13
Counting in Japanese
Knowing how to count is important in order to
function properly in any language. You must be
able to count so that you can understand the prices
of goods you want to buy, services that you wish to
use, make plane reservations, and so on. Now that
you have learned to count from one to ten and
started to work on numbers above ten, the rest will
be quite easy. Just as long as you know the first ten
numbers, you can make any number up to 99,
simply by combining them. In this unit you have
learned 14, 15, and 16. They were simply made up
of ten and four, ten and five, ten and six, respectively. You can continue to count in the same way
up to 19. Then 20 is a combination of two and ten,
that is, ni ju. You may guess that the same rule is
applied to every number after 20. 21 is ni ju ichi, or
“two ten one.” Though you will only be introduced
to a few new numbers in any unit, when you understand the rule you will be ready for large numbers,
and you will indeed encounter them on your initial
entry to Japan.
26
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 13 (continued)
Good-bye
sayonara has become widely known as “goodbye forever” through the movies, TV dramas, and
other media. It may indeed imply in some contexts
that the person using this expression has no
intention of seeing the other person ever again. It
can, however, be readily used to say “good-bye”
when you will be seeing the person in the near
future.
jaa mata is an expression equivalent to “See
you.” It is a fairly informal way of ending a conversation, and of expressing your intention to see the
person again. jaa, atode, literally meaning “then
later,” implies to Japanese speakers that the speaker
is expecting to see the other person again on the
same day, whereas English speakers may not when
they say, “See you later.” You may want to be
careful of this difference.
27
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 14
takusan, sukoshi
There is no clear and explicit difference between
singular and plural forms of nouns in Japanese. In
English, most words need an “s” or “es” at the end
to indicate plurals, but most Japanese words do not
change. Whether the nouns are countable or
uncountable, you can use takusan for “a lot of” and
sukoshi for “a little” or “a few.” For example, “one
beer” is biiru ippon, “two beers” is biiru nihon, and
“many beers” is biiru takusan. “I have a lot of
money” is watashi wa okane o takusan motte imasu,
and “I have a little money” is watashi wa okane o
sukoshi motte imasu.
The word sukoshi has a variety of functions in
daily conversations. It not only stands alone to
mean a small quantity, but you can also say watashi
wa nihongo o sukoshi hanashimasu, meaning “I
speak a little Japanese,” sukoshi hoshii desu, “I
want a little,” or even, sukoshi ososugimas, “It’s a
little too late.”
28
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 14 (continued)
Drinks
Japanese, just like Americans and Europeans,
enjoy drinking when they dine. Many business
meetings are followed by or even conducted during
dinners and drinking parties. In these social
occasions, people establish personal relationships
with one another as they discuss more casually their
individual feelings. Beer is by far the most popular
alcoholic drink, but most alcoholic drinks such as
wine, whiskey, bourbon, brandy, gin, vodka, and
rum are also available. Japanese sake, made from
rice, is also popular, and it is served either cold or
warm. Shochu, or distilled liquor made from a
variety of grains such as wheat, rice, and sometimes
potatoes, is also a popular drink among Japanese. If
you do not care for an alcoholic drink, you can of
course ask for any soft drink you are used to. In
addition to most soft drinks available in America
and Europe, cold oolong tea (Chinese tea) is served
in most places. In general, hot Japanese green tea is
served free of charge in most restaurants.
29
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 15
itte kimasu
The conversation in this unit began with a lady
saying itte kimasu. It literally means, “I am going”
or “I am leaving.” When Japanese go somewhere,
they usually say it to those they are leaving behind.
In response, the person who is staying usually says
itte rasshai, literally meaning, “Please go.” Of
course they use this expression to wish the person a
good trip. When people come home they say
tadaima, or “I’ve just come home,” to which others
respond by saying okaerinasai, meaning,
“Welcome back.” These sets of greetings are
exchanged when people go in and out of the house
and are very common among the Japanese; you are
sure to hear them when staying in a Japanese home.
As a short-term visitor from a foreign country you
are not expected to say these greetings, but if you
do, your efforts will surely be appreciated.
30
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 16
~ desu ga
In this unit you learned that in order to make
hoshii desu, “I want,” more polite, you can say
hoshii n desu ga, “I would like.” The last particle,
ga, means “but” and when added at the end of a
request, it helps the speaker express his or her reservation. The person who ends a request with ga
indicates that “While I wish it could be done, I
would understand even if it cannot be done.” This is
just another instance that demonstrates the Japanese
value on modesty. It is also a sign of their desire to
depend upon others’ benevolence, which is known
as amae. One’s ability to depend on others as well
as respond to others’ call for dependence is an
important social ability. You will also hear desu
kedo, essentially the same as and even more polite
than desu ga.
31
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 17
kyo wa nani o shimasu ka?
You learned earlier that wa is used for emphasis
or comparison. In Unit 14 and the present unit you
have practiced using several words that indicate
time, such as today and this evening, followed by
wa. Here, this means “as for.” You will also notice
that in Japanese the words or phrases that indicate
time are usually placed in the beginning of a
sentence, unlike in English where these words are
normally at the end. You may notice when a
Japanese person speaks to you in English, she or he
may habitually begin a sentence with time, such as,
“Yesterday, I went to see my friend.” “Today, what
would you like to do?” When you speak Japanese, it
is often desirable to begin a sentence with a word or
phrase indicating time.
32
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 18
shujin, goshujin / kanai, okusan
When Japanese people introduce their spouses,
they do not introduce them by their names. While
English-speaking people will introduce their
spouses, saying, “This is my wife, Mary” or “This is
my husband, Bill,” when Mr. Sato introduces his
wife to you, he will say simply kanai desu, or kore
wa watashi no kanai (tsuma) desu, “This is my
wife.” When Mrs. Sato wants to introduce her husband to you, she will probably say shujin desu, or
kore wa watashi no shujin (otto) desu, “This is my
husband.” You may be surprised when you find the
meanings of kanai and shujin. kanai literally means
“inside the house,” and shujin means “master.”
Since kanai and shujin refer to one’s spouse in a
modest manner, you will never use them for another
person’s spouse. For “your husband’’ you simply
add go for politeness to shujin, and say goshujin, or
anata no goshujin. “Your wife” is anata no okusan,
or simply, okusan. Here we have a different word,
okusan, which means “a person deep inside (the
house).” Coming from the North American culture
where equality between the two sexes is a serious
concern, you may be astonished to see that Japanese
women are still treated as a minority or a weaker
sex. Role differentiation with regard to sex is more
33
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 18 (continued)
distinct in Japan than in the United States. The
society is changing, however, influenced by the
global concern for racial, sexual, and religious
equality and is importing and incorporating some
new policies. You will find many men now refering
to their wives as tsuma, and women to their husbands as otto, much more neutral terms than kanai
and shujin. Interestingly, however, there is no word
to replace okusan when referring to your conversational partner’s wife. The original mean-ings of
these terms however, are being lost, and they are
only titles that people continue to use without any
derogatory connotation.
34
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 19
hajimemashite / dozo yoroshiku
When you meet someone for the first time, you
greet that person by saying, “How do you do?”
“Pleased to meet you,” or something similar. Many
Japanese people say hajimemashite, or dozo
yoroshiku. Literally, hajimemashite means “(I am
meeting you) for the first time,” and it has come to
be used as an initial greeting remark. dozo
yoroshiku is a more implicit expression with a wide
latitude of possible interpretations, depending on
the context, the nature of the relationship that is
about to develop, etc. It literally means “Please be
good to me” and it symbolizes the value that many
Japanese people place on mutual dependency
known as amae. Just as with many other expressions used as social lubricants such as, “Let’s get
together sometime,” “Drop in when you are in the
neighborhood,” the real function of dozo yoroshiku
is to make the initial encounter between people go
smoothly.
35
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 20
hitori, futari, san nin
When you count a number of people in
Japanese, you use regular numbers except for “one”
and “two.” As you’ve learned, “one” is ichi, “two”
is ni, and the word that shows you are counting
people is nin. The Japanese perceive that it would
be awkward to say ichi nin, and ni nin, so they use
an old way of counting instead. “One person” is
hitori, “two persons,” futari. The rest is easy and
regular: san nin, yo nin, go nin, roku nin, shichi nin,
and so on. Also notice that when you want to say
“eleven persons” and “twelve persons,” you say ju
ichi nin and ju ni nin instead of ju hitori and ju
futari.
otoko no ko, onna no ko
You have learned otoko no ko and onna no ko for
a boy and a girl. Notice that in Japanese there are no
special words such as “boys” and “girls.” Rather, you
say literally, “a male child,” and a “female child.”
You can use these words for all ages from newborn
babies to children in high school and sometimes even
in college. An important cultural difference you may
notice if you spend some time living in Japan is that
36
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 20 (continued)
Japanese children are generally more dependent on
their parents than their U.S. counterparts are, and that
they frequently appear to be less mature. Parental
support for children is usually continued through,
and often beyond, college. You would not find it
awkward, therefore, to call a twenty-two-year-old
male college graduate otoko no ko. You may often
hear Japanese refer to their children as ookii otoko no
ko, chiisai onnna no ko, etc. They literally mean “a
big boy” and “a small girl,” respectively, and the
Japanese may be actually talking about the size of
their children, or they may be calling a grown-up boy
ookii otoko no ko and a very young girl chiisai onna
no ko. The context will determine the meaning.
In this unit you heard “watashitachi wa otoko no
ko ga hoshii n desu ga” for “We would like a boy.”
Japanese, like many other Asians, are more particular
about the sex of their children than people in many
Western countries. While it has become legally
accepted for a married couple to use two separate last
names, both the husband’s and the wife’s, it is still
predominantly the husband’s last name that is kept.
Family business has been traditionally handed down
to the oldest male child in the family. Many parents,
therefore, would like to have at least one boy when
they have children.
37
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 21
otearai, toire
Just as you can find many words in English that
indicate a lavatory, you will come across a variety of
expressions in Japanese. In this unit you have
learned two of them: otearai and toire. otearai
literally means “a place to wash hands” and is
equivalent to “washroom” or “bathroom” in
English. toire is an imported version of “toilet,” and
it is very commonly used. Japanese also use
keshoushitu, roughly equivalent to “powder room.”
The most direct and straight expression of benjo,
equivalent to lavatory, is rarely used in daily conversations. An interesting discovery you may make in
a Japanese home is that the toilet and the bath are in
separate rooms, unlike in the U.S. where you most
often find both in one room. In Japan, a toilet and a
bath are regarded as facilities that perform very
different functions.
38
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 21 (continued) / Unit 22
a, so desu ka?
“Ah so” is an expression stereotypically
associated with Japanese in many old U.S. films,
and it is commonly known to Americans as an
utterance that Japanese make frequently. While the
Japanese may not use it as often as it is depicted in
the films, it is indeed an appropriate expression to
show your surprise at an unexpected finding or to
confirm the response to your inquiry. Remember to
make it into a polite form by adding desu ka at the
end when you say it to a person to whom you need
to show respect. “Ah, so” without desu ka is
perfectly appropriate between friends.
Unit 22
kodomo, kodomo san
In the conversation the woman asked, nan nin
kodomo san ga imasu ka? and the man said, futari
kodomo ga imasu. When you talk about someone
else’s family members, you show your respect by
adding san at the end. The san is equivalent to Mr.,
Mrs., and Miss. When you talk about your own
family members, on the other hand, you never use
39
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 22 (continued)
san. This is an example of Japanese humanrelationship-centered communication, and it serves
to maintain smooth and harmonious personal ties in
Japanese society.
The Japanese manner of expressing politeness is
complicated by their notion of modesty. They show
their deference to others by not only symbolically
heightening the other’s status, but also by lowering
their own. You may often hear the Japanese speak ill
of their own family members. A mother may say, for
example, “My son is dumb, and he’s doing so poorly
in school. Your son seems really smart and you have
nothing to worry about. I am embarrassed.” The
other person will, of course, respond by saying
something like, “Please stop joking. My son only
spends a lot of time in his room, pretending to study
so hard. But I have no idea what he is doing. Maybe
he’s listening to his stereo, or reading comic books.”
The two mothers clearly do not mean what they say
to each other. While such an interaction may appear
to be overly condescending and insincere to people
from the U.S. culture, it is an important aspect of
social interaction in Japan. You, as a non-native
speaker, are not expected to play the complex social
game, but an awareness will contribute greatly to
your comfort in and appreciation of the culture.
40
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 23
Weights and Measures
You have learned to ask for some gas for your
car and also to talk about distance. Whenever you
travel to a foreign country, you are likely to come
across different perceptions of weights, distances,
heights, volumes, etc. If you are visiting Japan for a
short period of time as a tourist, these differences
may not affect you very much, but if you are to stay
there for an extensive period of time, engaging in
business as well as social conversations, you will
find some knowledge concerning the Japanese
system quite useful. Even when the Japanese speak
to you in English, they will still use the system to
which they are accustomed.
Here are some examples to show you how the
U.S. weights translate to their Japanese counterparts.
• One foot is about 30 centimeters, and an inch
is about 2.5 centimeters. If you are 6 feet tall,
then you are 180 centimeters tall, and if you are
5 feet 6 inches, then you are about 165
centimeters.
41
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 23 (continued)
• One pound is about 0.45 kilograms, which
means that if you weigh 100 pounds, that is
about 45 kilograms, and 150 pounds translates
into 67.5 kilograms. When you visit a grocery
store, you will find various things priced by 100
grams. A steak, for instance, may be 600 yen for
100 grams, which is roughly equivalent to $22 to
$27 per pound, depending on the exchange rate.
• One gallon of gas, another expensive item in
Japan, is roughly equal to 3.8 liters. One liter
ranges from 90 yen to 110 yen depending on the
kind and place where you get it, and it translates
into $2.70 to $3.35 per gallon.
• Finally, the road signs that tell you the
distance to your destination and also the traffic
signs indicating speed limits are all in
kilometers. One mile is approximately 1.6
kilometers, and thus 40 kilometers per hour,
which is a common city speed limit, is 25 miles
per hour.
Again, as a foreign visitor you may not need to
know all of these, but if you can get used to them, it
will facilitate your daily activities.
42
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 24
Getting Around in Japan
The high price of gas in Japan has been
mentioned. If you drive while in Japan, it could be
quite challenging for you, as well as it is for local
residents. The Japanese must go to a special driving
school to obtain a driver’s license and the average fee
is over $2,000. The number of skills that are
necessary to get around in crowded cities accounts for
the high fee. You should apply for an international
driver’s license prior to your departure for Japan. You
must remember that the Japanese drive on the left side
of the road, as the British do. Because of the limited
space, parking is a problem in big cities and it is also
quite expensive, so you may want to think twice
before driving in Japan.
Public transportation, on the other hand, is well
developed and very convenient for both local trips and
long distance traveling. You may enjoy a Shinkansen
bullet train ride across the country from Aomori, the
northern tip of Honshu (the largest island) all the way
through Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, to Fukuoka,
the largest city on the island of Kyushu, the southernmost major island. Air traffic has been developed
quite extensively, and as a result air fares have become
reasonable in recent years. The major airports are
located in Sapporo, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka,
and Okinawa.
43
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 25
oo kei
As you have learned, the Japanese have borrowed many words from English: gasorin for
“gasoline,” depaato for a “department store,” etc.
O.K. has become a universally recognized
expression, and it is no exception in Japan. You will
hear many Japanese use oo kei to indicate that
everything is all right, or to ask you whether
something is all right with you. You will also notice
that they may accompany the verbal utterance of oo
kei with a nonverbal sign, index finger bent to touch
the thumb to form a “zero.” That same sign is also
used to indicate money in Japan.
Store Hours
In the conversation in this unit, the man said that
the department store may be closed because it is
late. While he may have said it so the lady would
not go shopping, it is important to know when the
Japanese department stores are open as they do not
always keep the same store hours as those in the
U.S. They usually open at 10:00 AM and close
around 6:30 PM on regular business days, including
weekends. Unlike some stores in the U.S., many
44
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 25 (continued)
Japanese department stores and small shops are
open on Sundays. In fact, the stores are most
crowded on Sundays. Each department store,
however, has designated one weekday as a day off,
usually Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. You will
find the Japanese stores extremely crowded with
people during two main gift-giving seasons every
year: mid to late July and December. During these
seasons, most stores stay open till 8:00 or 9:00 PM.
45
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 26
ni, san
In this unit you learned ni, san nichi for “a few
days.” The ni, san, literally meaning “two (or)
three,” can be used in combination with many other
words: ni, san nin (“a few people”), biiru ni, san
bon (“a few beers”), and ni, san shukan (“a few
weeks”). We have repeatedly stressed ambiguity
and indirectness as features of Japanese communication, and ni, san is just another example. Even
when the speaker knows precisely how many
people he or she is talking about, the expression ni,
san nin may be used. Although the expression
literally indicates only two or three as possibilities,
four or even five are not completely excluded. To
respond to the question, “How many beers did you
have last night?” a Japanese person may say ni, san
bon, while he might, in fact, have had five or six.
The range of possibilities included in ni, san is
wider than that of “a few.”
46
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 26 (continued)
Taxis in Japan
You have learned another English word that is
commonly used in Japanese: takushii. Taxis are
readily available in most cities, and even in fairly
small towns. You can flag one down on the street or
phone for a pick-up. Most taxis, both companyowned and privately-operated, are connected by
radio. They are clean, safe, and convenient. The
fares vary, depending on the city you are in. They
are slightly more expensive in large cities such as
Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka than in smaller places
such as Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Sapporo. You do
not need to tip the driver, but simply pay the fare
displayed on the machine by the driver’s seat. An
interesting discovery you will make is that the rear
passenger door opens and closes automatically.
Just as long as you can clearly tell the driver where
you wish to go, or show a map and point to your
destination, you will get there safely and rapidly by
taxi.
47
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 27
hyaku
Now that you have learned hyaku, one hundred,
you can go all the way up to 999 by simply
combining the numbers you already know. One
hundred is hyaku, so one hundred five is hyaku go.
One hundred ten is hyaku ju. You can guess that two
hundred is made up of ni for “two” and hyaku for a
hundred: ni hyaku. The rest is easy except that the
pronunciation of hyaku varies slightly depending on
what number it follows. Three hundred is san
byaku, six hundred is roppyaku, and eight hundred
is happyaku. It is quite easy to count in Japanese,
and it is also important that you know how to say
large numbers, as they are frequently used in daily
interchange.
48
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 28
jaa
In any spoken language you can find interjections which are used frequently, but which have no
specific meanings. Some examples in English are
“well, ah, uh, um.” jaa is a good Japanese example.
It can be used in a variety of situations and gives the
speaker a chance to think carefully about what he or
she is about to say, to take a turn to speak, etc. In the
present unit, it was introduced as being equivalent
to “well then.” You can use it when you wish to say
“See you later” to a friend. You can also say jaa
when you ask a series of questions. For example,
“biiru o nomimasu ka?”
“iie, nomimasen.”
“jaa, osake o nomimasu ka?”
How naturally you use these interjections may
be a good indicator of your mastery of the language
you are learning.
49
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 29
masu, mashita, masen
As stated before, Japanese word order is quite
different from English. In English, the general
meaning of a sentence is made clear early in the
sentence. You can figure out whether something is
happening now, will happen in the future, has
already happened, or did not happen at all, by
listening to the first part of a sentence. The
Japanese language, on the other hand, places the
important words toward the end of a sentence. The
difference among masu, mashita, and masen is very
small, and they come in the very end of a sentence.
Such an attribute of the Japanese language may
require your extra attention, and you need to be
careful not to jump to conclusions until you hear the
entire sentence.
50
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Unit 30
Continuing Success
Throughout Japanese I, Third Edition you have
learned many essential elements of the Japanese
language. Practicing what you have learned in the
thirty units will assure you successful initial
encounters with the Japanese people. We hope you
will keep up with your daily practice and further
build upon your vocabulary. One additional aspect
of competency that you will find useful and
important is your sensitivity to cross-cultural differences in values, thought patterns, space and time
orientations, mannerisms, etc. You can also
continue to build on your communication skills by
proceeding on to Japanese II.
51
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Introduction to Reading Japanese
When you visit a foreign country such as Japan,
where the language sounds very different, and the
appearance of the written language does not even
remotely resemble what you are used to, you may
naturally find yourself somewhat intimidated. Just
imagining the difficulty you may face in learning
how to read and write can be discouraging.
Mastering reading and writing Japanese is indeed
an extremely long and complex process, and even
many native speakers have not completed the
learning process.
In this course you are learning spoken Japanese.
While a knowledge of the orthographic form of
Japanese will be useful when visiting Japan, it is not
necessary to acquire speech. In the following notes,
however, some basic and important knowledge of
written Japanese will be introduced. Once you
understand the essentials that underlie written
Japanese, you will find that reading in the language
is much easier and less intimidating than you may
have anticipated.
52
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Kanji, the Chinese Characters
Kanji is the “pictorial” writing the Japanese
borrowed from the Chinese. Each Kanji character
represents an object or idea, and in written Japanese
these objects and ideas combine in various ways to
form new words and phrases. The pronunciation of
each character varies depending on the context, and
some Kanji have up to four or five different ways to
be pronounced. One is required to be able to
recognize and understand some 3,000 Kanji characters to achieve functional literacy in the Japanese
language. It won’t be necessary, however, to be able
to pronounce the Kanji characters, and you will certainly not need 3,000, but it will be rather convenient to get the general meaning of a basic core of
some 50 characters which you will see in such public places as airports, train stations, on street signs,
and on restaurant menus. As an example of Kanji,
we will introduce you here to a few that are typical
of the pictorial Kanji characters.
To get you started with reading Japanese, here is
the character for “up” or “on.” Notice that it looks
as if the whole character points upward:
53
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Kanji, (continued)
This character pointing down means “down” or
“under.”
When put together, these two characters form a
Japanese word, meaning up and down. The word is
used to indicate not only the physical upward and
downward directions, but also a social relationship
with a status difference.
Here is another character, which means a “tree.”
Can you see how the image of a tree was transformed into the Kanji character?
And here is the character for a “mountain.”
54
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Kanji (continued)
Many characters are made up of two or more
parts: hen (or the left-hand radical) and tsukuri (or
the right-hand radical). The Kanji for “tree” can
serve as a hen, and it may be used to form such
words/characters as “woods,” or a “forest.”
woods
forest
Here is a more complex character combining
three parts: mountain, up, and down. Put together
as one word, “mountain,” “up,” and “down” mean a
“mountain pass” or a “peak.”
When you can recognize some 50 basic
Japanese Kanji characters, the rest will be fairly
easy, as you will probably be able to guess what a
new character may mean just by looking at it and
identifying the component parts. The first step is to
get rid of your anxiety about reading Japanese; take
the time to become familiar with the fundamental
patterns used to make up the Japanese Kanji
characters.
55
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Katakana and Hiragana
The Kanji system adopted from Chinese is the
basic Japanese written system, but whereas the
Chinese language uses only pictorial characters,
Japanese uses two other types of writing systems in
addition to Kanji. They are Katakana and Hiragana.
These are two different sets of “letters” representing
Japanese sounds. Each letter represents either a
vowel sound or a consonant plus a vowel, for
example, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, etc. The Japanese
Hiragana and Katakana are both lined up in the
same way. The vowels go: a, i, u, e, o. The consonants k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w are placed before the
vowels. You can memorize the order of Hiragana
and Katakana in much the same way you
memorized how the alphabet goes from A to Z.
shown on the chart on the next page. Each
block contains the transliterated phonetic representation of the character, followed by the Hiragana
and then by the Katakana (in parentheses).
56
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Katakana and Hiragana (continued)
57
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Katakana and Hiragana (continued)
Katakana is the writing system used for
Japanese / English cognates, i.e., for words adopted
from English into Japanese. You will find it particularly useful to learn Katakana, as you may need to
read and write your name from time to time.
Foreign and new words are spelled using Katakana,
so you will see words such as “restaurant,” “hotel,”
“golf,” “gasoline,” and many others in Katakana.
Here is what they look like in combination:
restaurant
hotel
golf
gasoline
Hiragana is the writing system comprised of
letters used to represent grammatical endings and
features that Chinese does not have. Unlike Kanji,
in which a symbol represents a concept or an idea,
in both the Hiragana and Katakana systems of
Japanese, there is a connection between the symbol
on the paper and the spoken word, and each letter is
pronounced in only one way regardless of the
context. Before Japanese children learn how to
58
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Katakana and Hiragana (continued)
write the complex Kanji characters, they learn how
to write Hiragana and they use it for every word. To
illustrate, yama or “mountain” can be written in
three different ways, in Kanji, Katakana, or
Hiragana. However, since it is not a foreign word, it
would rarely, if ever, be written in Katakana.
mountain
Kanji
mountain
Katakana
mountain
Hiragana
While it is possible to use the phonetic Hiragana
and Katakana scripts to represent almost any
Japanese word, it is usually considered more appropriate to use the Kanji characters whenever
possible, using the phonetic scripts only to
represent foreign words (Katakana) or features
unique to Japanese (Hiragana).
59
Japanese I, 3rd Edition
Books and Signs
Most westerners are accustomed to reading
books starting from the front and reading each line
left to right, starting from the top of the page. In
books and traditional writing, however, Japanese is
written in columns, top to bottom starting on the
right side of a page. The books appear to open
“backwards” to English speakers, as the “front” of a
Japanese book is the “back” of an English text.
However, in signs, menus, and books in which some
English words are used, such as academic papers,
Japanese is now often written from left to right.
Visitors to Japan are fortunate in that the international sign system and many English words are used
in signs and directions. Rest rooms, for instance,
can often be identified by male / female symbols, or
by the words “WC,” or “Toilets.” English names are
also widely used alongside Japanese. Store signs
are often written both in English and Japanese
Katakana. Some signs, however, are misspelled, or
are the outcome of imaginative creation known as
“Japanese English,” which sometimes makes it
difficult for English-speaking people to understand
exactly what product the business is selling.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
JAPANESE I 3 EDITION
RD
Voices
English-Speaking Instructor
Japanese-Speaking Instructor
Female Japanese Speaker
Male Japanese Speaker
Ray Brown
Makoto Takenaka
Kimiko Ise Abramoff
Tsunenori Abe
Course Writers
Kimiko Ise Abramoff ♦ Beverly D. Heinle
Editors
Miho Hirohashi ♦ Mary E. Green
Notes on Japanese Culture & Communication
Dr. Akira Miyahara
Professor of Communication Studies
Seinan Gakuin University
Digital recording made under the direction of
Sarah N. Hewitt
at Simon & Schuster Studios, Concord, MA
Recording Engineers
Peter S. Turpin ♦ Kelly Saux
© and ‰ Recorded Program 2002
by Simon & Schuster Audio, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
© Reading Booklet 2002
by Simon & Schuster Audio, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
All rights reserved.
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